Around the World (1946)
Orson Welles’s youthful hubris took a knock when his Broadway musical
extravaganza, based on Phileas Fogg’s exploits, crashed and burnt – despite
the presence of four mechanical elephants – leaving the Kane wunderkind in
financial ruin.

Twang!! (1965)
Lionel Bart, writer of Oliver!, didn’t always get it right. His
self-financed Robin Hood spoof Twang!! was then the most expensive
flop in West End history, leaving Bart bankrupt. His earlier Second World
War musial Blitz! (1962), hadn’t fared much better - when Bart asked
Noel Coward what he thought of it, the master had said: “I thought it was a